


Light The Way

by felineranger



Category: Red Dwarf (UK TV)
Genre: Feels, Fluff, M/M, TPL spoilers, diamond-light
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-12
Updated: 2020-04-12
Packaged: 2021-03-01 17:41:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,004
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23610976
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/felineranger/pseuds/felineranger
Summary: Following the events of TPL, Rimmer and Lister have a small adventure of their own.
Relationships: Dave Lister/Arnold Rimmer
Comments: 11
Kudos: 72





	Light The Way

**Author's Note:**

> I had to get this gooey glittery fluff out of my brain

“There you are. I’ve been looking everywhere for you.” Rimmer emerged into the open space of the observation dome to find Lister leaning against the rail, looking out at the view. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” Lister managed a small smile. “Just needed a minute to process….everything.”

“It’s not been a quiet weekend, has it?” Rimmer agreed with an awkward smile back.

“How does it feel being a god?” Lister teased gently.

“Honestly, without my diamond-light powers, somewhat anti-climactic.”

“But you’ve got more or less infinite battery life now. No more low power mode for you. That’s got to be a bonus.”

“I suppose so.”

“It’s a shame in a way.” Lister paused. ”You look very distinguished in black and white.” Rimmer wasn’t sure how to reply, so he didn’t.

Lister turned his attention back to the stars. “You think they’ll be okay?”

“The cats? Yes, I think so. They’ll have their ups and downs, just like humanity, but that’s life, isn’t it?”

“Ups and downs.” Lister’s gaze dropped from the stars to his feet. “But the downs really take it out of you.”

“I know they do.” Rimmer hesitated. “That’s why I want to move back in.”

He’d expected grudging acceptance or outright indifference. He wasn’t prepared for the look on Lister’s face. “Really? You mean it?”

“Yes. Don’t get me wrong, all that crap is going back in the storage bay. I’m not living in a pigsty. But yes.”

“Why?” Lister asked. “What made you change your mind?” 

“Because you were right,” Rimmer admitted, staring uncomfortably at anything but Lister’s earnest hopeful face. “You need the moon  _ and _ the sun to make moonlight. And when the sky gets too dark, moonlight is all we have to find our way through.”

He wasn’t looking, so he didn’t see the faint shimmer of tears that appeared with Lister’s smile. “Is that why you came looking for me? In need of a little sunlight?” he asked hoarsely.

“Partly. But really, I wanted to try something.”

“What?”

Rimmer straightened up, closed his eyes and focused, and his projection fizzed and flickered before bursting into full diamond- light glory. Lister’s mouth dropped open. “You can still do it?!”

“Only for short periods. It really zaps my power, but I bounce back once I switch it off.”

“Won’t it damage your bee?”

“Not if I use it sparingly. Emergencies only, sort of thing.”

“I imagine it will come in handy from time to time.” Lister smiled warmly. “I’m happy for you.”

“Me too. But that’s not what I wanted to try.”

“Well, what was it then?”

Rimmer stepped forward and put his arms around Lister’s waist. “This.” Lister looked up at him, surprised and bewildered. Rimmer saw a whole rainbow of emotions dance through those deep brown eyes, from confusion, to nervousness, to amusement, and what might have been hope. “Hold on,” he said simply. And then leapt through the glass with Lister in his arms.

Lister made a noise somewhere between a gasp and a scream. His whole body felt like he had pins and needles. He threw his arms and legs tightly around Rimmer, gripping on for dear life as his brain tried to process that they were  _ outside _ the ship. Outside in the icy vacuum with nothing between them and infinity. “Argh! What are you  _ doing _ ???” he squealed as they hovered in the void.

“Relax. You’re perfectly safe. You’re made entirely of light now, just like me.”

“It tingles!”

“You’ll get used to it.”

“Ohmygodohmygodohmygod. Don’t drop me!”

“I won’t. You don’t weigh anything.”

“Ohmygodohmygodohmygod. Smegsmegsmegsmegsmeg…..”

“Listy.” He risked peering up from Rimmer’s shoulder to make eye contact. He raised a smug eyebrow. “ _ Trust _ me.”

Rimmer started to glow. Lister felt the tingling all through him intensify as the two of them fused and melded to became one golden gleaming ball of light, that zipped away from the ship. The part of the lightning ball that was still Lister screamed, but it was the scream of a teenager on a rollercoaster; a heady mix of nerves and exhilaration and a euphoric feeling of invincibility. They ducked and span and dove through the darkness at light speed. Up ahead, a small silver moon glimmered invitingly. They circled it in a spirograph pattern before Rimmer morphed them back into their individual forms and touched down lightly on the surface.

“What do you think?” he smiled nervously, like a kid who’d just performed his first magic trick in the playground. Lister stared up at him, arms still wrapped around his neck, his dark eyes shining. He was breathless with no need to breathe, his whole nervous system was lit up like a firework, and he’d never felt more alive than in this moment. “I love it,” he whispered.

Rimmer scooped him up, and they were one again, flying through the air until suddenly they were back inside the observation dome as if they’d never been gone. Rimmer let go of him, Lister’s feet met the solid floor, and he felt something like the opposite of an electric shock as his cells became solid again. He reached out to grip the rail to steady himself. “Hoooooo.”

Rimmer’s glittering uniform faded back to twilight blue. He twiddled his thumbs in front of him sheepishly. “You okay?”

“Okay? I’m…”. There were no words, so Lister simply dissolved into laughter.

“You really liked it?” Rimmer smiled hopefully.

They stared at each other for a long moment that was full of too many things to say, and then Lister flung his arms around Rimmer in a tight hug that nearly knocked him off his feet. “I really did,” he said, his voice choked. He buried his face in his chest. “And I like  _ you _ . I really really do. And I should have said it before now.”

Rimmer cautiously lifted his own arms, arranging them around Lister in a way that seemed to fit nicely. He lowered his face into his soft dark curls. It felt...nice.

“I like you too. Sunshine.” he whispered.

  
  
  



End file.
